Illinois lags behind nation in improvement in child abuse rate

While rates have dropped nationwide, recent numbers point to Illinois and Peoria-area rates leveling off or showing a slight increase.

Frank Radosevich II

While the number of confirmed cases of child abuse has dropped across America since the 1990s, recent data shows Illinois and Tri-County Area rates the past two years holding steady or showing a slight increase.

The nationwide report published this month from the University of New Hampshire’s Crimes Against Children Research Center states the number of cases of sexual abuse of children decreased nationwide just 5 percent from 2005 to 2006, but an astounding 53 percent since 1992. Physical abuse also has been continuing a downward slide, by 48 percent also since 1992. The number of cases of neglect have varied over the years revealing no clear trend, the study noted.

In Illinois, the report marked a 9 percent decline in sexual abuse from 2005 to 2006, falling 13 percent since 1992. Physical abuse dropped 11 percent from 2005 to 2006 but rose 39 percent since 1992. Child neglect was down 2 percent from 2005 to 2006 and 31 percent since 1992.

Scott Smith, who counsels and evaluates both juvenile offenders and victims of sex crimes across central Illinois, said the news is a positive sign toward stopping child abuse and neglect in an otherwise gloomy field. What is not clear from the report, he added, is why abuse rates have declined.

"There’s a lot of things that can affect it up or down," said Smith, CEO of Galesburg-based P.F. Dover Counseling. "Which things are playing the bigger role? It’s very difficult for us to tell. … There appears to be on the surface a lot of good things that are happening."

The nationwide report also offers no consensus as to why, rather, it points toward economic improvement, tougher laws and prosecution of abuse cases as well as public awareness and new treatment options for family and mental problems.

According to the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, substantiated cases of sexual abuse also dipped from 2005 to 2006 and since the early 1990s.

But more recent data shows a slight increase in the numbers. From 2006 to 2007, the agency reported 75 more cases of sexual abuse, a near 3 percent increase.

"The general levels of reports of abuse and neglect and substantiated reports of abuse and neglect have remained pretty much the same," said Kendall Marlowe, a spokesman for the group, adding "There is some evidence that the most egregious cases have declined."

At the local level, there were 41 victims of sexual abuse reported in Peoria County in 2007, up from 38 victims the year before; In Tazewell County, from 33 sexual abuse victims to 39 victims during the same time frame; and Woodford reported 6 victims in 2007, up from 2 the previous year.

Meanwhile, Marlowe said the state has far fewer children kept in foster care. In 1998, the state counted about 52,000 children in its care. The figure has since dropped to less than 16,000. Marlowe said the change came from fewer youths entering the foster care system and reforms made at the federal and state level.

Deciphering the reasons for the decline in child maltreatment is complex. Each case differs from the next. Laws, particularly those governing sex crimes, are often evolving or widening their scope. And the numbers alone do not tell the whole story, Smith said. More cases of child abuse could spell a greater frequency of abuse, or a public more willing to alert the authorities.

Factors that can lead to child abuse and neglect include substance abuse, domestic battery, unemployment, poverty and young, inexperienced parents living in a stressful household though usually its a combination of factors that can trigger abuse.

A strong network of charities and social groups have helped out at the local level, said Mary Bullock, director of the Peoria office of DCFS. She also stated the agency has tried a new approach by involving the entire family in the problem-solving process. Parents, children and relatives are encouraged to identify the underlying issues leading to abuse and look for solutions. An added bonus is the approach strives to keep households together if there is no immediate threat to children.

"It empowers the family and it allows the community and relatives to assist that family," Bullock said.

Frank Radosevich II can be reached at (309) 686-3142 or fradosevich@pjstar.com.